Battlefront
by TsukiChanChan
Summary: Gray never imagined that he'd be urged to go fight when he was watching a movie in nothing but boxers, but he gave up his personal life the moment he became a soldier. Still, he was intent on not letting it go, even if it means killing the Spriggan Emperor himself. If he could survive an angry Lucy, he could survive Zeref, too. Hopefully. [SciFi, War AU] [Alvarez Arc]
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**

 **Another story, because I can. Wanted to do a GrayLu and NaLi, so here it is, all in one! I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Damn it."

Gray shouldered his way through the people standing around the mess hall- people rarely ate there. The people surrounding him were all seasoned soldiers. None were used to standing still, so like him, they walked around.

Not with the urgency he had, though. Ignoring the protests of his comrades as he rudely bumped into them, too distracted to notice or apologize, he headed away from the crowd to the room he hated the most.

The training room- a place full of new recruits who barely knew how to fight and stepped out of line way too often. How anyone could enjoy teaching them was beyond him, but what could he do? It was a part of his job.

"Damn it. Damn it. Damn it."

Gray silently cursed Natsu, his painfully annoying partner, for overstuffing his stomach, _again,_ and getting sick so he couldn't work his shift, _again._ It'd be better if Natsu had done it on purpose, so Gray could've ratted him out and gotten the man the punishment he deserved. But, that wasn't the case. Natsu loved training the kids _and_ stuffing his stomach at _all times possible._ It was just Gray who got the short end of the stick.

He walked down a flight of stairs, into what everyone called "The Basement." The lights never worked, except for the occasional flicker, and the hard cement walls made the area hard to penetrate, by signals and force, and lots of important stuff went down there. A little creepy, but pretty safe.

Instead of immediately heading to the Recruit Room, he headed down the opposite hall, relying on his memory to navigate him through the dark corridors. Still, he brushed the fingers against the cool walls as an extra measure. It was so easy to get lost and so hard to get found, and Gray had already gotten stuck down there for a full day. He wasn't eager to go through that again.

He stopped walking, the metal door against his fingers proof this his memory proved itself reliable once again. Gripping the door handle, he pulled the heavy door open with ease stepping into the threshold.

The room which it led to was well lit with dozens of candles and flashlights all balancing on the clutter that made the room seem smaller than it was. Atlases, globes, and all the like stood in tall stacks, casting long shadows against the wall. Four desks stood within the madness, all of which weirdly clean in contrast to the surrounding area. Each of the swiveling desk chairs held its usual occupant, all four of them silently working on whatever they were.

The quad was generally referred to as "Intelligence", the main operatives of the whole Fairy Tail War Guild. If they were to die, everyone else would, too. They were too important to be put in harm's way, not that they cared. They often snuck out to fight, enduring as many battles as the rest of the soldiers.

Only one person acknowledged Gray's entrance- an ex-prisoner named Jellal who had done more than enough to gain everyone's trust but still somehow didn't receive it. Even Gray had often warily eyed him, making sure he wasn't doing anything that could weaken the guild. It may have been unkind, but Gray figured it was rational.

The guy had tried to kill his friends on many occasions.

"Colonel Fullbuster." He greeted, politely inclining his head. Sighing, Gray pulled up a stool, seating himself opposite from him.

"I told you not to be so formal," Gray replied. "Just Gray's fine."

Jellal just nodded his head, the usual. The exchange happened every time they saw each other, but Jellal always felt the need to keep it formal between the two. Gray guessed he still didn't see himself worthy to become friends with the same guy he tried to kill, so he took it as a compliment.

"Do you need something?" Jellal finally asked, stopping his typing to give Gray his full attention.

He had obviously been in his little HQ for some time. Blue bits of stubble were coming in and his brown eyes were tired and worn. He sort of smelled, not that Gray minded, and his clothes were wrinkled and stained with spilled bits of coffee. He devoted himself to his work more than anyone else in the room, barely remembering to take care of himself. Everyone else often had to remind him to.

"Well, Natsu got sick again, and I _definitely_ don't want to deal with the recruits, so I was wondering if you guys could take over," Gray said, silently pleading that Jellal would agree.

"I'm sure that they wouldn't want to see an ex-convict like me," Jellal answered, face sinking at the thought. "I would if I could, though."

"But you can!" Gray protested a product of his desperation rather than kindness. "They aren't that bad."

"Then why don't you enjoy their company?" Jellal asked, confusedly blinking at Gray. Jellal was book smart, but not people smart. Gray pulled a tight-lipped smile.

"I'll go ask someone else." He said, hoping that _one_ of them would be kind enough to lift the burden off his hands.

He scooted his stool to the next desk, where its occupant eyed him suspiciously. No doubt she was eavesdropping on his conversation, so she probably already knew what he was going to ask.

"No."

Okay, so she _definitely_ knew what he was up to.

"Come on, Lucy!" Gray pleaded, trying his best to break down the walls of the stubborn blonde in front of him. She glared back with a glare and a frown, chocolate eyes easily holding up against Gray's dark ones. He was used to his begging, although he rarely did.

"No, Gray!" She impatiently snapped, turning back to her books. "I already lost enough time checking on Natsu just a few minutes ago! I have to finish my assignment!"

"Since when did you care about finishing your assignments?" Gray retorted, ignoring the snicker that escaped someone's (most likely Levy's) lips. "Come one, you could finish in four minutes with your eyes closed! And Natsu recovers like a demon anyway! It'll only be, like, fifteen minutes!"

"If it's 'only' fifteen minutes, then why don't you do it?" Lucy pushed a golden lock behind her ear, pushing her glasses back into place. "They're just kids- just like you were four years ago. I'm pretty sure you gave Gildarts a worse time than they give you."

"But Gildarts loves kids," Gray said, snatching up Lucy's papers. "I don't!"

"Give them back!" Lucy screeched, snatching them back. Clearing her throat, her composure returned, and she fixed Gray with a deadly glare. "I said no, and I mean no. Stop bothering me."

With that, she turned back to her work, and Gray groaned.

"Some best friend you are." He muttered under his breath, and Lucy just huffed in reply.

"So you need someone to babysit?" Levy giggled, and Gray turned to her. Although she was the oldest out of the five, she was the smallest, and could pass for a recruit if she wanted to. Her eyes were large and brown, her bright blue hair barely in order. She only wore colorful things, but when it came down to it, she could get mature as hell and was _not_ someone to mess with.

"Yeah," Gray answered, hope returning. "You'll do it?"

"Sure." Levy shrugged, spinning around to face Gray, papers in hand. "I need a break anyways. Freed, handle this for me? It's only basic infiltration stuff, you might need a computer to test these theories, though…"

Freed, the most silent member of Intelligence, just nodded his head. He was an expert swordsman and hacker, either in Intelligence HQ working or following Laxus into battle. Gray only talked to him occasionally, since Freed kind of creeped him out. He was pretty mysterious, and nobody knows where he came from. One day, he just showed up as a recruit and never told anyone about his past. Nobody came for him and nobody looked for him, the opposite of Lucy.

Her father paid shifty folks to come and retrieve her the moment he found that she became a recruit, certain that she was destined to be the birther of a company heir rather than the respectable soldier she became. Gray was certain that they made up somewhere along the way, though.

"Thanks, you're the best!" Levy cheerfully exclaimed, dropping the work onto Freed's desk before following Gray out the room.

Although now in the pitch blackness, Gray couldn't see Levy, he looked at where he guessed she would be. "What kind of work do you do in there?"

"Well, not that much stuff now," Levy responded, and Gray embarrassedly realized that she was on the opposite side of him. Turning his head so that he was finally looking in Levy's direction, he urged her to continue.

"That stack of paper didn't look like 'not that much'."

"Well, Alvarez has been oddly quiet lately, so other than keeping an eye on them, we're just testing the waters, you know?" Levy said, her shrug illuminated by the brief flicker of a light overhead.

"They have been inactive, huh?" Gray murmured, his tactical mind shifting into gear. "That isn't odd for them, but why? They've been holding their own, so why would they drop out? How long have they've been withdrawn?"

"Around a month," Levy answered. "They've been increasing trade lately, but the country is unknown. Plus, it seems they have some information of ours- nothing important, but enough to see that it's an inside job."

"Have you told the general?"

"I'm telling you what everyone knows." Levy snickered. "That's what you get for skipping briefing- Makarov was ready to kill you."

Gray flushed in embarrassment. "It's not my fault they held it so early. I needed sleep."

"As if. I've seen you function on two hours."

"Okay, fine. I went MIA for a few hours. Is that so bad?"

"Yeah, since you could get your title stripped because of it," Levy said, most likely rolling her eyes. "What were you doing anyway?"

"I met up Lyon for breakfast. Surprised Juvia didn't tag along with us."

"She's been busy lately- I barely see her in the barracks anymore. I wonder how much sleep she gets."

"Does it matter?" Gray chuckled. "She has enough energy to last for the next decade and then some."

"Gray!" Levy chastised, swatting his arm (and damn, did it hurt). "Worry about her, will you? Like a _good friend_."

"I am. I trust that she knows what she's doing."

"You're unbelievable." Levy sighed, stopping at the Recruit oRom. "What are you gonna do now? Another lunch date with Lyon?"

"I've had enough of him for the rest of the month," Gray grunted, making his way towards the staircase. "First, I'ma bash Natsu's face in, then I'll go on the training grounds."

"The only two things you do here." Levy sighed, opening the door. Light poured through the small crack, lighting up Levy's face. She shook her head in mild disappointment. "You could stand to be more sociable." She pointed out.

"I have plenty of friends." Gray dismissed, waving his hand. "Well, see you around."

"Sure."

The hall returned to complete darkness as Levy disappeared into the Recruit Room, leaving Gray to himself. If he got his hands on Natsu, the bastard would be in the infirmary for something _way_ more serious than a hurt stomach.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Almost 2000 words! Woah! Most of the story will be from Gray's standpoint, but there'll occasionally be other characters' POVs. As you can tell, this is the Alvarez War, but different. I'm mostly excited to introduce the rest of the characters, and build friendships between them! I hope you enjoyed! 'Til the next chapter!**

 **Au revoir!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note**

 **Whoop whoop! Next chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

Gray quickly made his way to the infirmary, a small room near the entrance to Fairy Tail. It was usually unoccupied, but Gray still remembered how full the infirmary was right after Tartaros attacked Fiore. He was one of those lucky to survive the assault, but many others weren't.

When he stepped into the room, he tensed. The place didn't hold happy memories for him. He would find Natsu, kill Natsu, then get out.

"Gray. I figured you would come here."

Wendy was only twelve when she arrived at Fairy Tail, transferred from Cait Shelter. The war guild was completely abolished by Oracion Seis, a terrorist organization, and Wendy was the only survivor. She was timid, friendly, and innocent and became everyone's little sister. She was too young to be put into battle, although she certainly packed a punch, but was excellent at anything regarding medicine and she became a renowned healer.

Now, she was sixteen and had a little more confidence in herself. She had cut her blue hair short a while back, and it still sits right above her shoulders. Her brown eyes held the same kindness they did when she first joined Fairy Tail, and she still had the same smile and adorable naivety. No doubt Natsu came to her the moment he felt sick, instead of one of the other healers, and no doubt they both predicted that Gray would come to beat Natsu's face in.

"You hid him?" Gray asked, not at all surprised. Wendy raised her hands in surrender, a small smile playing at her lips.

"He practically begged me to."

"And you won't tell me where he is?" Gray guessed, grunting when Wendy nodded.

"Sorry." She giggled.

Gray shrugged. It was no point trying to look for Natsu, who could hear and smell him from miles away. They'd cross paths eventually, and Gray was a patient person. No need to rush.

"Why'd you cut it?" Gray asked. Wendy's hand flew to her hair, and she frowned as she twisted a few strands, looking away from Gray.

"Just figured it was time for a change." She muttered, shifting her weight.

Unlikely. Wendy isn't one to just change. If she did, it was always for comfort or the convenience of others. Everyone adored her long hair- no one would ask her to change it. So, why would she?

"You're lying to me." Gray responded. A guess, but an accurate one all the same. "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine, though." He raised his hands as an act of peace, and Wendy relaxed considerably. Suspicious, but understanding, Gray changed the subject.

"I should go look for Natsu, now." He said, a small smirk playing at his lips. "If you want to give any tips to where he might be…"

Wendy laughed a little harder than she should have, but she looked Gray in the eyes. "Sorry, can't tell you."

"Figured." Gray shrugged, and he slipped out the door. The moment he did, he noticed the hunger that had been silently gnawing at his stomach. It occurred to him that he didn't eat lunch, since he had to watch recruits the moment he stepped into the line to get his food. He wondered if Intelligence ate, too, and mentally added getting food for all of them to his to do list.

He especially owed Levy for taking the brats off his hands, kind of feeling sorry for her. If they were anything like how they acted with him with Levy, there would be someone else who shared the pain of trifling brats. Gray admitted that his general unlikableness was due to his distant attitude, but the acceptance didn't make anything any better.

He found his feet taking him to the mess hall, and for a while he went along with it before he passed the barracks. Like pretty much every military establishment, females and males weren't allowed to be bunked in the same barracks, but Gray often spent the night at Juvia's. He was pretty sure everyone knew about their late-night card games, but everyone also knew the two were respectable and civilized people. Besides, they were best friends. Nothing more, nothing less.

They haven't hung out as much since Juvia got with Lyon, but it didn't matter to Gray. As long as they idiot treated her right, he was fine.

Curious to see if she was in there, or her roommate at least, he knocked on the door. It was answered almost immediately, the door swinging open as soon as Gray's hand reached his side.

There, looking like a zombie, was Juvia, who tiredly looked up at Gray. "Juvia wasn't expecting company."

"Obviously." Gray snickered, managing to avoid Juvia's oncoming fist as he stepped through the door. As usual, the room was tidy. All plushies of Lyon were neatly stacked in a corner, all pictures of him arranged in a heart above her cot. Her roommate was nowhere to be found, but Gray sort of expected that. He hadn't seen her in ages, but he was sure she was still alive.

"Did Gray need something?" Juvia asked, yawning before bringing a warm mug of coffee to her lips. She looked at Gray expectantly as she drained the contents.

"Nope." Gray said, sitting on Juvia's cot. "Just wanted to check on you."

Faking surprise, Juvia joined him. "Since when did Gray 'check on' people?"

"Why is that so surprising?"

"For such an excellent soldier, Gray is _really_ unobservant."

Gray scowled, if only to hide a small smile. "I can be _very_ observant, mind you."

Juvia gave him a doubtful look, setting the coffee mug onto the floor. "Sure."

"Fine, fine. Levy told me something was up with you." Gray relented, laying down and propping his feet on Juvia's lap. Resting the back of his head on his arm, he stared questionably at Juvia. "What have you been doing?"

"Training, mostly." Juvia shrugged.

"Why?"

"Gray trains all the time. Why can't Juvia?"

"Because you never trained before."

Sighing, Juvia gave in. "Juvia fought Keyes."

"And?" Gray prodded raising a brow. He already knew about her battle with Keyes- who didn't?

"And he used anti-ethernanos." Juvia finished slowly. Her eyes glazed over as she stared into her lap, seeing something that Gray couldn't.

"Oh." Gray said, realization dawning upon him. He had seen what anti-erthananos did to people. The feeling of it was apparently not pretty at all. Juvia didn't want to go through that again. Gray fought the urge to describe it as cliché- he had barely avoided encountering them himself.

"And so you've neglected to take care of yourself?" Gray asked, scrunching his nose. "Take a shower."

"Is Gray saying Juvia stinks?" Juvia scowled playfully.

"Yep. You probably have been starving yourself, too."

"Erza has been brining Juvia food, actually."

"Goodness you're _obsessed_ with training."

"And Gray's not?" Juvia asked, amused. She laughed in triumph as Gray clenched his jaw shut as he realized that what she said wasn't a lie.

"At least I keep myself _alive_."

"Really? Has Gray been ignoring his growling stomach?"

"Shut up!" He snapped, his face flushing. Sure, he was hungry, but his stomach seemed to agree with him.

"Juvia was lying about your stomach. But Gray proved he hasn't eaten." Juvia snickered, easily dodging the pillow Gray threw in response.

"You're one of the most-"

"Amazing people Gray's ever met." Juvia intervened, innocently smiling at Gray. He, of course, defied it.

Throwing Gray's feet off of her with a grunt, Juvia crossed the room in a barefooted shuffle. Gray, curious, watched her silently as she opened a drawer.

"What're you getting?" He finally asked, craning his neck to see around her.

"Juvia's EA." She replied. "She would like to know if Gray wants to spar."

"Sure." He coolly said. He subconsciously grabbed his own- a simple bracelet the same color as his hair with specks of icy blue. It perfectly matched his "superpower"- the ability to manipulate and create ice. He didn't know much about how his Enhancive Accessory worked, only that it somehow turned Ethernanos, a weird nonmetal found on Earthland, into whatever was most suited to him.

He remembered the day he became a full-fledged soldier, and went to get him matched for his EA. Some lady from another wing described the process as something that happened in some book she read.

"You don't choose the EA, the EA chooses you." She had said, and Gray had found that to be hardly true. He found an EA that he liked and kept it- it was none of the magical phenomenon the lady made it out to be. Special connection, his ass. He choose some white thing like he was told and it turned into his bracelet a moment after. Still, although he found his aptitude for ice to be standard, especially when Lucy could summon other beings with hers, he had grown fond to his power and was amazing at utilizing it. It'd be cooler if it were magic, but super cool technology was fun, too.

Juvia's aptitude was for water, and Gray knew firsthand how dangerous she was in battle. The first time he met her, they weren't exactly friends. She nearly _killed_ him, but he ended up emerging triumphant, though everyone else said he managed to end up _alive._

He watched as Juvia slipped on her EA- a black choker with a shiny diamond in the middle shaped like a teardrop. Juvia complained that it made her look depressing, but she sort of already emitted that sort of vibe. Gray would never tell her to her face, but the style of her EA matched her _perfectly_.

"Is Gray ready?" Juvia questioned, slipping on some worn sneakers. Gray nodded, and got up to join her at the door. They were both wearing the most casual clothes Fairy Tail provided- a loose purple shirt and white shorts. Gray liked neither of those colors, but there wasn't anything to do about it.

"I've never seen you in the training room." Gray commented, as Juvia led him out a nearby door. They stepped outside into a beautiful courtyard in the middle of the establishment. Gray didn't care much for the flowers and trees as much, so he paid no mind, but by the way Juvia had slowed down as she looked around he figured she must appreciate it more than he did.

"Juvia's been going to the training room on the eastern wing." She explained, hopping from stone to stone on the path. "The one on Gray and Juvia's is practically in shambles from Natsu burning everything, and then from Erza's swords as they miss Natsu and pierce the walls and equipment instead."

She heaved a sigh, shaking her head. "So, don't tell Natsu about this training room, okay?"

"Okay."

The two stepped back into the building. Fairy Tail was shaped like the sun, with the courtyard in the middle and eight rectangular buildings jutting outwards, connected by a hallway encircling the courtyard. Of course, the hallway was complete with air condition and a moving walkway for the lazy, but going through the courtyard was much faster and apparently more fun. Gray didn't see how, though.

The eastern ring buzzed with life. New soldiers walked together in small clusters through the halls, each walking with their heads high and spines straight. Like Gray had once been, they all felt like they were doing a great service to their country and that boosted their confidence. They thought they knew the whole picture, but they really didn't.

Everyone stared as Gray and Juvia passed them. At first he thought it was because of Juvia's appearance, but everyone gave her respectful hellos and smiles as they walked by, and Gray realized they were staring at _him_.

"What're they staring at me for?" Gray muttered, eyeing them in slight irritation.

"Juvia's usually the only one that comes over her." She answered, stopping to hug some girl. "Juvia guesses they're wondering why Juvia has company today."

"Well tell your friends to stop looking at me like idiots." He replied, loud enough so everyone around him would get the message. Eyes were hastily turned away from him, and Gray nodded, satisfied that they understood. "They could just say hello." He added to Juvia, who rolled her eyes and started walking faster.

"People rarely touch the equipment because they don't know how to use it and don't appreciate it." She said, pushing open a large set of doors that led to a small, quiet hallway. "So, Juvia is always alone there and it helps her focus."

"So, I'm a distraction?"

"Let's see."

Pushing open another door, Juvia stepped into a large room. The white walls were barely even touched, dummies stood perfectly still in the center of the room, and other standard, and specialized, stuff lay around.

Gray hadn't seen a jumping rope that wasn't snapped in half for a _long_ time, and he wondered why he didn't move to another wing sooner. "Wow." He simply remarked, spinning around the get a full glance. Like Juvia said, no one was there, and the room didn't smell of fire like the one back where he practiced.

Juvia moved to the left wall, where blocks of cement as tall as her stood.

"You moved that by yourself?" Gray asked, surprised.

"Never underestimate Juvia's strength." She smugly replied. "Juvia moves it after she's done practicing to prepare for the next day. Her arms are usually kind of sore. If she gets too tired, she uses her water to move it."

"And what do you do with it afterwards?" Gray asked, rolling back the sleeves of his shirt. "It's hot in here."

"Take your shirt off then." Juvia replied, snickering. "Juvia's surprised you already haven't."

"Shut up."

"Anyway, Juvia is trying to increase her water's power and her control over it, so she tries to make a certain pattern in the cement blocks. Juvia's water gets out of control easily, especially when Juvia's emotions are heightened."

"How does your emotions affect your ability?"

"Of course, Gray wouldn't know. He doesn't have emotions."

"I do!" Gray defended. "I'm just not good at expressing them."

Juvia laughed, turning back to face the cement blocks. "Would Gray like to give it a try?"

"My ability isn't water."

"It's ice, which is water but frozen." Juvia remarked. "Besides, Gray can form something to chip away the stone- it's not that hard."

"It must be for you to work at it so hard."

"Juvia supposes." She shrugged, and Gray walked up to her.

"Well? Will Gray give it a try?"

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **If anything was unclear about EAs.**

 **EA- Enhancive Accessory. EAs are constructed out of solid Ethernano, an element that is common but mostly unseen on Earthland. It can take the form of any type of object or being and can be controlled by its owner. Fiore harvests Ethernano, and flattens it into white plates. Soldiers pick a white plate and it will conform to its new owner in terms of appearance and ability. However, most believe that the EA is destined to be with a certain person and most soldiers don't know otherwise.**

 **Anyway! Juvia has been introduced~ As Gray's bestie! I think they're cute (but in an only friendship way, in this story at least). They're gonna be training buddies. Who will be introduced next chapter?! Only time will tell.**

 **Au revoir!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note**

 **I'm really feeling this right now. Enjoy!**

* * *

Gray frowned as he carefully etched another groove into the cement. He had convinced Juvia to let him carve a simple hammer instead of the intricate flower she had shown him a picture of. Gray had to remind her that he wasn't as good as an artist as she was. The woman was wonderful with all types of styles when it came to art, and Gray knew that she would've made it big as a painter or illustrator if she wanted. Thinking about it, though, he hadn't seen her drawings in a while. If he weren't so concentrated on his own little piece of artwork, he would ask her if she abandoned the hobby.

Just as Gray went to draw the handle of the hammer, Juvia let out a high-pitched shriek, making Gray yelp. With a startled flinch, his ice pick swayed in the air before crashing onto the ground. It shattered against the floor and erupted into a cloud of mystical blue particles before completing disappearing.

"Would you stop that?" Gray roared. She had done it who knew how many times in the short half-hour they had been in the training room, and Gray was just about tired of it. "I'm trying to concentrate!"

"Does Gray think that Alvarez will do their best to let Gray concentrate?" She asked, eyebrow raised and arms crossed. "Juvia didn't think so."

"I didn't come here for you to be my drill sergeant." Gray snapped, expelling his irritation with a sigh. "I came here to spar with you."

"With the way Gray is, he could never beat Juvia." She replied, tone devoid with any hint of haughtiness or confidence as if she were merely stating a fact.

"Wanna bet?"

"A true soldier never leaves a task unfinished," Juvia said, gesturing back to the cement wall. Another stray line had found itself on his "masterpiece", a product of Juvia and her random jump scares.

Scowling, Gray imagined an ice pick in his mind, willing it to appear in front of him. Before him, the blue particles shimmered as they revealed themselves to Gray as they combined to create the ice pick Gray needed to finish the stupid training exercise.

But Gray had never been known for his patience when it came to a good fight. In defiance to Juvia's suggestion, he stood up and moved to the center of the room, kicking his discarded shirt along as he went. Within a few minutes, the room was clear of all clutter. Everything lay in a small corner, and Gray turned back to Juvia.

"I'll finish it later." He stated, and Juvia sighed, shaking her head at Gray's agitation.

"Fine, fine." She conceded, walking to the opposite side. "Gray could barely survive Juvia when they first met, so he shouldn't expect it to be different now."

Ah, and there was the smugness that Gray found challenging and annoying simultaneously. Brushing it off, he smirked, eagerly hopping from toe to toe. "Don't count on it."

Since there was no referee, he figured that it would be okay if he went ahead and attacked, so he did. "Hammer!" He called out, and the weapon appeared in front of Juvia nearly too fast for her to comprehend.

She yelped and moved to the side just as it came crashing down, leaving a cloud of shattered ice behind. Wisps of water came out of the mist, along with Juvia, her eyes ablaze.

"That wasn't fair!" She hissed, only for Gray to give her a taunting smile.

"Oh, is Alvarez going to give Juvia a countdown so she can prepare herself?" He said, making a show of how easy it was to block her attack. Juvia's scowl deepened at his mocking, the air around her distorting as a wall of water appeared behind her. It surged forward towards Gray, water roaring as if to reflect Juvia's anger.

It collided with Gray's own wall, one made of ice that he willed not to crack. It was only inches from his face, after all, and it breaking would not be good for him. Not with him so close. In an attempt to distract Juvia so the wall may collapse, spikes just like the one he used to carve appeared all around him.

It was a move he may or may not have stolen from Erza, who did a similar configuration, but instead with sharp, gleaming blades.

The icicles shot outward, the wind whistling as they moved at an incredible speed. The water wall collapsed, much to Gray's relief, and he scouted the area. Juvia was nowhere to be found, and he stilled as he tried to listen for anything that would tell him where she was.

There was nothing. No sound as Gray carefully circled around, ready for another attack. The mist had cleared, and all that remained were puddles that undoubtedly came from the fall of Juvia's wall.

Puddles.

"Fuck!" He shouted, jumping backward just as Juvia emerged from the puddles, discs of water next to her.

He had completely forgotten about Juvia's ability to become water, which enabled her to easily dodge attacks and camouflage herself almost everywhere. In a desperate, and rash, attempt to attack before she did, his own plates of discs formed in the air, whizzing at her with significant instability. They crashed into Juvia's own and ultimately lost the battle, with Juvia's deadly water cutting right through them before making its way to its ultimate goal.

Which, unfortunately, was Gray.

The shock caught Gray even more off guard and he awkwardly shuffled to the left to try to avoid _too_ much damage. Just as the discs were to collide with Gray, though, they stopped less than an inch away. Juvia had disappeared once again, but he soon knew where she was when he was splashed on the back of his head with water.

The water discs fell to the ground as Juvia's laughter rung from behind him.

"See, what did Juvia tell you?" She said between a fit of giggles, and Gray tensed with a scowl.

"Okay, you won." He muttered. "Congrats."

Juvia, however, was still laughing. "Gray should've seen his face!" She gasped, trying to stifle her snickers.

"Fuck!" She shouted, scrambling backward with an expression so ridiculous that Gray hoped and prayed that he really didn't look that way.

"It was hilarious!" Juvia continued. "Gray didn't know where Juvia was! He was so confused!"

"Shut up." He muttered again, turning his cheek and stuffed his hands in his pocket.

"Gray's confidence was gone so quickly!" She laughed, stopping to comically wheeze to emphasize just how funny she found it. Her cerulean eyes found their way to Gray, who was still brooding about his defeat. Clearing her throat in a futile attempt to regain her composure, she stood up straight, forcing her smile into a somber line,

"In all seriousness, though," she started, her tone way too monotone and expression too forced to express such a thing," if Gray could only last three minutes when Juvia, he can't expect to defeat a Spriggan."

Gray sighed in defeat, shoulders slumping the tiniest bit. He wasn't one to be encouraged, but he had always assumed that he was stronger than Juvia. Being wrong sucks, especially when Natsu would laugh at him for it if word ever got out.

"So?" Juvia said, catching Gray's attention. His eyes followed her outstretched arm, shoulders slumping, even more, when he saw what she was pointing to.

The cement block he had abandoned just moments ago.

* * *

It was dinner time by the time Gray finished drawing a single hammer, and his back was super stiff from the amount of hours he sat there. Juvia had made him start over every time he made the _tiniest_ mistake, and he still didn't end up getting it right. She was gracious enough to let him eat and take the rest of the night off, but she had made it clear that she expected him to be back at the same place at the same time the next day.

He wasn't looking forward to it.

He winced as he raised his arm to grab some salad. He didn't remember injuring his arm during the fight, but apparently he had because it hurt like _hell_. With his tray finally complete with his favorite foods- a roll, garden salad, a juicy steak, chocolate ice cream, and a slice of red velvet cake- he moved into the mess hall. A weird combination of food, he knew, but he had skipped lunch and "trained" for a good part of the day- he figured he deserved the dinner he prepared for himself. Unlike at lunch, many people sat in the mess hall to eat to talk about the day with comrades.

He spotted his friends and sat down with a grunt. Lucy turned to him with a concerned expression, eyebrow raised in curiosity. She must've been there for a while since her plate was empty, but she stilled sipped from a practically full glass of strawberry milkshake.

She took a break from her drink to acknowledge Gray. "What's with you?"

"I'm sore and tired," Gray said, stretching his tired arms.

"Why is that?" Lisanna questioned from across from him, sipping from a milkshake of her own, only hers was vanilla.

Gray turned an eye to Natsu, hoping he wasn't paying attention. Fortunately for him, Natsu was too busy inhaling food plate by plate do use his mouth or his ears.

Feeling somewhat relieved, Gray turned back to the two. "Juvia and I sparred earlier and she whooped my ass. And she made me do some stupid exercise because of it."

"You lost to Juvia?!" Natsu suddenly exclaimed, half-chewed pieces of food flying out of his mouth as he howled with laughter. "I could easily beat her!"

"Unlikely." Lucy pointed out, causing Natsu to look at her in slight annoyance. "Water beats fire, after all."

Gray nodded his head in agreement, brushing off Natsu's comment with a shrug. "I underestimated her. She's really strong now."

"Didn't you train with her after Fairy Tail broke up?" Lisanna questioned.

"I helped Erza with some infiltration stuff," Gray said, cursing himself for forgetting a drink. "Sort of ditched Juvia because of it."

"Wow, what a horrible friend you are," Lisanna said crinkling her nose.

"Yeah, if I were Juvia, I would have never talked to you again." Lucy seconded, and Gray crossed his arms, looking at Lucy expectantly.

"Really?" He said. "How long was it before you ran back to Natsu?"

Lucy's cheeks flushed in embarrassment as she recalled the memory. She met Natsu by chance when she covered the annual GMG, Grand Military Games, as he showed off his newfound power and nearly melted the stadium in the process. Apparently, he had left Lucy with nothing but a simple note only a few hours before Fairy Tail was shut down.

"She stopped ignoring me after around a week," Natsu answered, shrugging his shoulders. "I've seen worse."

"Hello, comrades." A new voice formally greeted and Gray looked to his right to find Erza looking back at him.

Nicknamed the mighty Titania, Erza was one of the strongest soldiers at Fairy Tail. She was also a demon hellbent on making Gray suffer by forcing him to like Natsu.

"Hi, Erza!" Lucy smiled, the only one brave enough to muster a greeting in response. The rest just nodded their heads in her direction as a hello- they had all witnessed Erza's _true_ wrath and could never look at the same because of it.

"I trust today went well." Erza continued, throwing a glance in Natsu's direction. "We have enough issues outside the borders, we don't need any more petty ones in Fairy Tail. Am I understood?"

Although her warning pertained to Natsu more than anyone else, everybody muttered a "yes ma'am" to avoid angering her. The woman was a ticking time bomb- what did Jellal see in her?

"Excellent." She said, beginning to inspect everyone. "What did you have for dinner, Lucy? You shouldn't drink too much of that milkshake- you won't be able to go to sleep tonight."

"Then why are you eating cake, Erza?" Lisanna timidly asked, squeaking when the redhead raised a brow at her.

"I've had a tiring day." She curtly replied. "I need the energy."

"Coffee," Gray said. He wouldn't let Lisanna fight Erza alone. Besides, she _probably_ wouldn't do anything too rash amid all these people.

"I don't like coffee all that much," Erza said, stuffing another forkful of cake in her mouth. "Where are Juvia and Levy? They usually dine with us. Are they with Gajeel?"

"No, Gray left her-" Lucy started, although she was hastily cut off.

"- some medicine because she said she wasn't feeling well today!" Gray sputtered in shock. If Erza found out he wasn't where he needed to be, nothing could save him. "I urged her to stay in bed instead of overexerting herself."

"What a great friend you are." Erza commended, giving a satisfied nod. "I will remember to check on her after dinner."

"She probably won't be there." Gray quickly replied. "You know, she's too stubborn for her own good." He laughed, and Erza eyed him suspiciously.

"Yes… I suppose so." She reluctantly said. "I guess I shouldn't be disturbing her, anyway. She needs rest."

"Yeah." Gray nodded, ignoring Natsu who was snickering from in front of him. Gray was just happy he'd live to see another day.

 **Author's Note**

 **Juvia defeated Gray! Expect more training ahead- Gray has to catch up! Almost done introducing the characters- then things can really begin! Look forward to meeting Gajeel and Laxus!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note**

 **Goodness, I'm stuck on all my stories. If you're reading this, I've somehow gotten past my writer's block XD. I've had SO much trouble figuring out what comes next, or rather how it's going to happen. Enjoy!**

* * *

"She ended up putting him in the infirmary for _weeks_ , but they made up in the end." And with that, Lisanna finished her _very long_ story with a bite of her croissant, curiously blinking at Gray as she waited for a response.

He was disinterested through the whole thing, only half listening as he rested his chin on his palm and listened to her blabber about something that happened and Edolas between their version of Lucy and Natsu.

(The journey there had led to the revelation of multiple dimensions mirroring our own, and the Council had tasked the country's top scientists to research the possibility of communicating and transferring such dimensions with the technology available rather than relying on natural phenomena or the technology of those dimensions. Whether they made any progress, Gray was unsure.)

He had only paid attention when she started speaking faster and more animatedly, something that Lisanna did when she was nearing the end of a tale. Gray found that habit odd, but it proved useful.

"Sounds like our Natsu and Lucy." He muttered in response, letting his eyes glide back to the two. Natsu was trying to convince Lucy to give him her bacon as she was eating it, since Mira, Lisanna's sister and the substitute cook, refused to give him a second plateful. Lucy, of course, declined, growing more annoyed by the minute.

Having seen this too many times to hold interest in the impending disaster, Gray sighed, looking back to Lisanna.

"What do you think Levy's doing?" She asked, reaching onto Natsu's plate for his (surprisingly) untouched croissant.

She bit into it as Gray mulled over the question, but not for too long. It was nothing to dwell on. "Out with Gajeel? Or Freed?"

"Doing what?"

"How would I know?" Gray shrugged, before thinking about it some more. "Well, if she _was_ doing something, it'd probably be with Freed. Her and Gajeel's interests don't align."

Lisanna put what was left of the croissant into her mouth.

"You ate that quickly." Gray commented, raising an eyebrow.

Lisanna let out a short laugh. "Almost like Natsu, huh? My eating schedule is whacked. Mira made her special recipe, whatever she calls it, for lunch yesterday and I ate so big of a serving that it lasted me until dinner, so I only had a milkshake last night. When I woke up I was _starving_."

"Can't believe I missed lunch the day Mira made her special recipe." Gray groaned, genuinely disappointment. Mira was a force to be reckoned with, especially inside the kitchen. Gray had only had her special recipe once before, and it was the best thing he'd ever eaten.

She had this way of incorporating a whole bunch of random ingredients, none of which are known, without any aspect being too overbearing or anything clashing. It tasted like _everything_ , which was the only way to explain it. One minute you're eating some sort of fish and then the next bite it's completely different, all without the texture changing, opposed to the change doing so _often_. There was just enough of one portion in the special recipe, which hadn't been officially named, for you to be satisfied before you were hit with the flavor of something else.

"Magic," Mira had told Gray as she handed him a plate of it years back. The dish looked like a stuffed biscuit that would be served I some high-end restaurant. The flaky bread was golden brown, with some type of sauce drizzled onto the top. He had asked her what was in it- he didn't know what was so special about it. "Unicorn droppings, mostly. A little bit of finely chopped dragon scales, too."

And then she hurried him along.

Lucy had decided to join the conversation then, soundlessly surrendering her bacon to Natsu who let out a victorious "whoop" because of it.

"She made her special recipe?" Lucy asked, equally disappointed. "You could've gotten me, you know."

"Sorry." Lisanna apologized, giving her a small smile before turning back to Gray. "I saw you in line, though. You were way ahead of me, and by the time I had gotten my tray, you were gone."

Gray blinked back at her, confused, before letting out a roar of frustration. "That's right! It's that bastard's fault!"

Having a feeling that Gray was talking about him, Natsu looked up, innocently looking between his three lunchmates. "What?"

"If you didn't get that stupid stomachache, I wouldn't have had to skip lunch!"

At that, Natsu laughed. "You missed lunch? Poor Ice Freak."

Gray kicked his shin, making Natsu yelped.

"Absolutely not!" Lucy shouted, just as Natsu cocked back his arm. "No fighting!"

Natsu reluctantly put his arm down, throwing Lucy a look before returning to his meal.

"Geez, I was on the other side to the room and I could still hear your screaming."

Gray turned to his left, just now feeling the effect of sitting in the same position for so long. Gajeel sat down next to Lucy, nudging her with a frown to indicate that she was the one he was referring to. Levy sat down across from him, giggling to herself.

"Where have you been?" Lucy asked Levy, after shooting a half sincere scowl Gajeel's way. Gray leaned forward so he could see Gajeel, taking some sort of interest in the two's exchange. He found it odd how Lucy had became as close to Gajeel as she is, considering he tortured her for her lack of compliance when asked that she surrendered. Natsu was fuming when he saw Gajeel sitting in the guild hall and flanked Lucy's sides for _weeks_. Gray himself was wary of Gajeel, but he figured that Lucy was strong enough to deal with the aptly named "Iron Dragon". Gray decided long ago that Gajeel could be trusted, way before Natsu did. And Gajeel never made him regret that.

"The big goof woke up late." Levy explained. "By the time he was ready, Jet and Droy were up and kept roping me into doing stuff with them before I snuck off."

Gajeel grunted in response, chucking some metal scraps in his mouth. An interesting side effect of the EAs. Some people had such a big tolerance for Ethernanos that it affected their way of life- essentially changing, or evolving, the weilder.

People such as those are littered among the War Guilds with a few in independent organizations or terrorist groups. Fairy Tail had a whopping number of four people that fit into that category, labeled Dragon Slayers- comparing their strength, appearance, and their behavior to the mystical beings that roamed Earthland eons ago.

Gajeel gulped down the metal, before turning his burning gaze to Levy. "Laxus accidentally fucked up the electricity again- not my fault."

"Again?" Gray questioned. He had never heard of such an occurrence. It looked like Lisanna hadn't either, because she looked just as confused as Gray felt. Because Laxus doesn't accidentally do _anything_.

"Yeah." Gajeel nodded, shrugging af it weren't big a deal. "This is maybe like, what? The fourth or fifth time, maybe. It's annoying- it fries my alarm."

"Laxus losing control over lightning?" Gray said, shocked at the thought. "What's he doing sparking up the room, anyway?"

"Dunno. Maybe nightmares?" Gajeel answered, throwing a bolt into his mouth.

"So he's doing it unconsciously." Lisanna commented, nodding to herself.

"Yeah, I'm saving his ego by not telling him about it." Gajeel said, smirking. "I usually wake up when it happens and have everything fixed in an hour or so. I didn't notice last night."

"All this in a few weeks?" Lucy asked, appalled. "That's really weird."

"Yup- I could use it against him later." Natsu suddenly chimed in, licking syrup off his fingers.

Lisanna swatted his arm, and Gray hummed with thought.

"When _exactly_ did Laxus start frying up the room's electricity?" Gray asked, and everyone, save for Gajeel, collectively groaned.

"Here comes Detective Sherlock." Lucy muttered, rolling her eyes. Gray ignored her.

"Right after the extraction."

"Odd." Gray commented, mind running miles per minute. Shrugging, he poked at his untouched plate with a fork. He had no intention to eat now, his food had gone cold. He pushed the plate to Natsu, who accepted with a happy grin.

"Nothing?" Lisanna asked Gray. "Nothing else to say?"

Gray lazily smirked, shrugging again. "I mean, if you _want_ me to…"

"Please don't." Levy sighed, shaking her head. "Anyway, the recruits were nice. I don't see what's wrong with them."

"I think Gray's the only one who doesn't like them." Gajeel gruffly said. "They're rowdy, sure, but obedient."

"You make them sound like dogs."

"They practically are." Gajeel said. "Always kissing up and tailing someone like needy puppies."

"And that's what's annoying!" Gray said. "They don't act on their own! I have to instruct them every twenty seconds. Where's their common sense?!"

"Cut them some slack." Natsu said, already having finished Gray's plate of food. "They're no more stupid than you."

"Natsu!" Lisanna hissed. "Be nice."

Lucy rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "Goodness, Gray, they're _kids_. Teach them what they need to know, and they'll become more independent."

She turned to Levy, leaving Gray no room for response. "What did you do in there anyway?"

"Politics." Levy replied. "Only small stuff on world peace and how to be a diplomat. They were all engaged- it was kind of fun." She cocked her head to the side, looking at Gray. "In fact, I might ask Erza to take your shift."

"Please do. Gray muttered.

An ear shattering bell rang, drowning out whatever Lisanna hoped to contribute towards the conversation. It certainly got everyone's attention. Even if you couldn't hear anything above the bell, it was easy to see that everyone was alert, and silent.

The bell stopped, and a voice boomed from the speakers in the ceilings.

"Hey, brats! I need Division A in the Announcement Hall. Mass meeting in 10 minutes- don't be late."

The cut off noise sounded and excited chatter arose. Those who were called got up from their seats, most too wary to complain about their breakfast being interrupted. The last time Makarov called for a mass meeting- although everyone was called for that time- it was to announce that Fairy Tail would be disbanding.

Very few people stood up, though. Division A was the smallest division, consisting of around 20 people that Makarov trusts the most. Advisors, basically, although four people out of Division A are generally his go-to's. What could be so important that Makarov wanted the rest of them, Gray didn't know.

Gray, along with the rest of his friends stood. Across the room, Cana and Mirajane stood and everybody's eyes followed them as they walked out the door.

"I wonder what he called all of us for." Lucy wondered aloud, voicing everyone's thoughts. "Progress report, maybe?"

"Maybe." Levy said, putting her half full plate on the trash conveyor with a frown. "I only just got here."

"Maybe Gramps is just announcing that I'm his next personal advisor!" Natsu exclaimed as they walked out of the cafeteria doors. Everyone rolled their eyes.

The Announcement Hall was in the Northern Wing and took up half of the first floor so that it could fit all soldiers and other personnel if called for.

They were in the North Eastern Wing, so there was no need to walk through the courtyard to save time. They entered the InterHall, a wide hallway that connected each wing, and headed for the Northern Wing.

"Whatever it is," Gajeel mutters, shoving his hands into his pockets," It better be short. I have stuff to do."

"If he called us for something, it must be important." Lisanna told him, and Gray nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, but what?"

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **I did it! I** _ **actually**_ **wrote a chapter! Applaud meeeee! Don't count on another chapter soon, though. I'll probably disappear for weeks again XD. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


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